1. Memphis secured the 7th seed, setting up a first round tilt with the #2 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.
2. The world got a chance to witness the NBA's best kept secret...the Memphis OKC rivalry.
The casual fan may see this match up as just one of many entertaining first round playoff series. But the Memphis OKC rivalry goes far beyond this year's playoff race. In fact, these two teams are directly responsible for the way we view the other today.
And they both should thank each other for it.
In 2009, Memphis and OKC were NBA nobody's. The Grizzlies were still recovering from the Pau Gasol trade, and hadn't sniffed the playoffs in five years. Newly acquired Zach Randolph was the lone bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season. Meanwhile...in Oklahoma City, the Thunder made their first playoff appearance in it's new location. They lost to the Lakers in six games. Kevin Durant was good, but not a star...and Russell Westbrook was just another point guard.
The next season, everything changed.
On February 8, 2011, newly acquired swing man Tony Allen was inserted into the starting lineup for the Grizzles. Starting forward and leading scorer Rudy Gay was lost for the season with a shoulder injury. Allen rarely saw the floor playing behind Gay and fellow swing man O.J. Mayo. But in his debut, he posted the stat line of 27 points, 5 steals, and 3 blocks in a Memphis upset road win. Their opponent?
The OKC Thunder.
In his post game interview, when asked about his performance, Allen coined the line that reverberated around Memphis....
"I dunno man...just all heart...Grit & Grind".
The "Grit & Grind" mantra quickly resonated with the local fan base....after all...Memphis itself is full of tough nosed, blue collar individuals. Allen remained in the starting lineup going forward, and he backed up every bit of his Grit & Grind proclamation. He was now deemed the "GrindFather", and FedEx Forum was now affectionately called the "Grind House". The Grizzlies rode that momentum, new identity, and newly found Allen led nasty defense, to an improbable first round playoff upset over the number 1 seed San Antonio Spurs.
Which brings us back to the Thunder, who themselves had made "the leap" that year. OKC knocked off the Denver Nuggets, giving young Kevin Durant and Company their first playoff series victory as well. Their second round opponent?
The Memphis Grizzlies.
Perhaps the 2011 playoff match up was just a precursor to what we are witnessing today. It was a wild a wacky series as well, featuring consecutive overtime games. Memphis rallied from a huge deficit to force overtime and won game 3. OKC responded by rallying from their own huge deficit to snag the victory in three overtimes in game 4.
Setting the stage for a career altering game 7 for one Russell Westbrook.
Once considered an afterthought, Westbrook put on a show in game 7, posting a triple double and willing his team to victory in front of a nationally televised audience. Even though the Thunder loss the following round to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks, Westbrook was now seen as a star, and was rewarded that off season with a 5 year, 80 million dollar contract extension. OKC's perception changed from Kevin and the Durant'etts, into a legitimate contender in the Western Conference after that Grizzlies series.
In the 2013 playoffs, the rivalry was renewed. This time, the Grizzlies advanced, knocking off OKC in 5 games. Even though Memphis advanced to their first ever Western Conference Finals that season, all anyone could talk about (nationally) was the fact that Westbrook being out with an injury was the reason. Memphis saw it as a sign of disrespect, further fanning their flames of Thunder discontent. Russell Westbrook's camp saw it as the ultimate compliment. Prior to his injury, Westbrook had come under fire for becoming a shoot first point guard, often at the expense of (now superstar) Kevin Durant. Russel was now vindicated, and once again...he had the Memphis Grizzlies to thank.
And let's not forget the bizarre encounter between OKC's Kendrick Perkins and Memphis' Zach Randolph in a regular season game last year. Both were ejected for an on court scuffle, then proceeded to run to the locker room to continue the fight off camera.
Huh? Stop playin.
The following day, Z-Bo was on a Memphis radio station and was asked about the altercation. He chuckled, paused for a second, then coined the second line that reverberated around Memphis.
"Well you know...we in the Bluff City...but we don't bluff".
Needless to say, word spread quickly. #wedontbluff hash tags, t shirts, and rally towels popped up everywhere immediately afterward. The fans loved it, and still love it today. And they have Kendrick Perkins, of the OKC Thunder, to thank for it.
Even as recently as this week, a franchise's perception was altered as a result of this rivalry. OKC's own newspaper deemed Kevin Durant "unreliable". This outraged casual and die hard Thunder fans alike. And who knows what the ultimate fallout from this could be? Especially if OKC were to somehow lose game 7 to the Grizzlies. We know that Durant is a free agent in two years, so feeling unappreciated is not the message you want to send. Thunder fans are saying...
"Thanks a lot Memphis defense...you see what you caused?"
Well...that must have fired Durant up, because he had his best game of the series that night and avoided elimination in the process. Dejected Grizzlies fans were saying....
"Thanks a lot Oklahoma City newspaper....see what you caused?"
And I won't even get into Memphis' "Whoop dat Trick" chant, which must have scared the living daylights out of OKC in last year's playoffs. If you have not seen it, please do yourself the favor. I promise you will not see this in another arena in the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J-3xeP993w.
Since becoming the Grizzlies and Thunder, they have met 40 times (regular season and playoffs to date). OCK holds a 21-19 advantage. Memphis and OKC have always been evenly matched, but could't be more different on the court. The Thunder play an up tempo, high scoring transition game. The Grizzlies prefer the old school, defensive minded, "Grit & Grind" approach. Both have been successful at carving out their own identities as small market teams in a big market league.
And both can thank each other, and their rivalry for it.
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